For the Grammar Nazi in youGrammar 101

A Sentence

• is a group of words that expresses a complete thought.

• has two basic parts: a subject and a predicate• The subject tells whom or what the sentence is about

• The predicate tells information about the subject – what the subject is, what the subject does, or what happens to the subject

• A group of words that does not have both a subject and a predicate is called a sentence fragment; it does not express a complete thought.

Functions of sentences

• There are four different kinds of sentences, each with their own purpose.

• You can vary the tone and mood of your writing by using the four different sentence types.• A declarative sentence makes a statement. It ends with a period.

• An interrogative sentence asks a question. It ends with a question mark.

• An imperative sentence gives an order or makes a request. It ends with a period or an exclamation mark. An imperative sentence has an understood subject which is often you.

• An exclamatory sentence expresses strong feelings. It usually ends with an exclamation point.

Sentence Structures• A clause has a subject and a verb.

• An independent clause expresses a complete thought and can stand alone;• a subordinate clause doesn’t express a complete thought and can’t stand alone.

• A simple sentence consists of one independent and no subordinate clauses.

• A compound sentence consists of two independent clauses joined by a semicolon or by a coordinating conjunction and a comma. Each independent clause has its own subject or verb. The most common coordinating conjunctions are: and, or, nor, for, but, so, and yet.

• A complex sentence consists of one independent clause and one or more subordinate clauses.

• A compound-complex sentence has two or more independent clauses and at least one subordinate clause.

Parts of Speech• A noun names a person, place, thing, or idea.• A pronoun is used in place of a noun.• A verb expresses action or a state of being.• An adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun. The most common adjectives

are the articles a, an, and the.• An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.• A preposition shows the relationship between its object – a noun or

pronoun – and another word in the sentence. The most common prepositions include: after, around, at, behind, beside, off, through, until, upon, and with.

• A conjunction joins words or groups of words. Common conjunctions are: and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet, either … or, and not only … but also

• An interjection is a word used to express emotion. Common interjections are: oh, ah, well, hey, and wow

Nouns

• The two basic kinds of nouns are:• A common noun names any person, place, thing or idea. They are usually not

capitalized.

• A proper noun names a specific person, place, thing, or idea and begins with a capital letter.

Now that you have the basics down; there are actually nine types of nouns.• Common nouns names a person, place, thing, or idea.• Proper nouns names a specific person, place, thing, or idea and begins

with a capital• Concrete nouns names a thing that can be touches, seen, heard, smelled,

or tasted• Abstract nouns names an idea, a theory, a concept, or a feeling• Singular nouns names one person, place, thing or idea• Plural nouns names more than one thing• Possessive nouns show ownership or possession of things or qualities• Compound nouns is made up of two or more word• Collective nouns names groups

I know you’ve always wanted to know about possessive nouns• An apostrophe is used to form the possessive or nouns. To form the

possessive of a singular noun, add an apostrophe and an s to the end of the word

• The possessive of a plural noun is formed two different ways• If the possessive noun does not end in –s, add an apostrophe and an s to the

end of the word

• If the plural noun ends with an s, add only the apostrophe

What about those collective nouns

• Well, they name groups – such as class, audience, and staff – that are made up of individuals

• A collective noun can be singular or plural, depending on how the groups act.

• When the group acts together as one unit to do something, the noun is considered, singular

• When individuals within the group act differently or do different things at the same time, the collective noun is plural.

Now, those pesky pronouns

• A personal pronoun used in place of the name of a person or thing

• An indefinite pronoun points out a person, place, thing, but not a specific or definite one

• A reflexive pronoun refers back to a noun previously used; adds –selfor –selves to another pronoun form

• An intensive pronoun emphasizes a noun or pronoun

• An interrogative pronoun asks a question

• A demonstrative pronoun points out a specific person, place, idea, or thing

• A relative pronoun introduces an adjective clause

The buggers also take on different forms called cases

Nominative Case Objective Case Possessive Case

SingularFirst personSecond personThird person

IYouHe, she, it

MeYouHim, her, it

My, mineYour, yoursHis, her, hers, its

PluralFirst personSecond personThird person

WeYouthey

UsYouthem

Our, oursYour, yoursTheir, theirs

A personal pronoun in the nominative case is used when a pronoun functions as the subject of a sentence.A personal pronoun in the objective case is used when the pronoun functions as a direct object, indirect object, or object of the preposition,A personal pronoun in the possessive case is used to show ownership or possession.

Let’s not forget antecedents

• A pronoun is a word used in place of one or more nouns. The word that a pronoun stands for is called its antecedent.

• The antecedent clarifies the meaning of the pronoun,.

• The pronoun may appear in the same sentence as its antecedent or in a following sentence

• When you use a pronoun, be sure that it refers clearly to its antecedent. A pronoun should agree in both number (singular or plural) and gender (masculine, feminine, or neutral) with its antecedent.

Lastly, about pronouns that is,

• An indefinite pronoun points out a person, place, thing or idea, but not a particular or definite one.

• A reflexive pronouns refers back to a noun or pronoun previously used and includes the suffix –self or –selves. It serves a grammatical function in a sentence, action as a direct object, indirect object, object or a preposition, or predicate nominative.• New one – a predicate nominative is a word or group of words that follows a

linking verb and identifies the subject or refers to it

• An intensive pronoun is used to emphasize a noun or pronoun already names in a sentence. It does not serve a grammatical function in a sentence

Action Verbs and State of Being Verbs

• A verb is a word used to express action or a state of being

• An action verb may express physical action or mental action. The action may or may not be one that you see, but either way an action verb tells you that something is happening, has happened, or will happen.

• A state of being verb does not tell about an action. It tells you when and where someone or something exists. State of being verbs are formed from the verb to be• Am, be, being, was, are, been, is, were

Linking verbs and helping, or auxiliary, verbs

• Like a state of being verb, a linking verb does not express an action; it links, or connects, the subject with a word or word group in the predicate that describes or renames the subject.

• A helping verb, also called an auxiliary verb, helps the main verb to tell about an action or state of being

• One or more helping verbs followed by a main verb is called a verb phrase

• Some auxiliary verbs – called modal auxiliaries – are used to create questions or to express possibility, permission, or obligation• Modal auxiliaries are can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, and

would

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

• An action verb that has a direct object is called a transitive verb.

• An action verb that does not have a direct object is called an intransitive verb.

• Don’t confuse a direct object with an object of a preposition. A direct object never appears in a prepositional phrase.

Verb Tenses

• Verbs have different forms, called tenses, which are used to tell the time in which an action takes place

• In your writing and speaking, you most commonly use the simple tenses.

• The simple tenses of the verb are present, past, and future.

The present tense tells that an action happens now – in the present time.• Present tense singular – A prophet announces future events.

• Present tense plural - Prophets announce future events.

The past tense tells that an action happened in the past – prior to the present time.• Past tense singular – A prophet announced the fall of the city.

• Past tense plural – Prophets announced the fall of the city.

The future tense tells that an action will happen in the future.• The future tense is formed by adding the word will or shall before the

base verb form.

• Future tense singular – A prophet will announce the fall of the city.

• Future tense plural – Prophets will announce the fall of the city.

The perfect tenses

• The present perfect tense expresses an action or state of being that occurred at an indefinite time in the past or an action or state of being that began in the past and continues into the present.

• The past perfect and future perfect tenses express an action of being that precedes some other point in time.

• The perfect tenses are formed by using has, have, or had with the past participle

Examples, for your edification and delight

• Present perfect – James has written the report. (singular)James and Diane have written the report. (plural)

• Past perfect – James had written the report by Monday. (singular)James and Diane had written the report by Monday.

(plural)

• Future perfect – James will have written the report by noon. (singular)James and Diane will have written the report by noon. (plural)

Progressive and Emphatic verb forms

• Each of the six tenses has another form called the progressive form.

• The progressive form of a verb is used to express continuing action or state of being.

• The progressive form is made of the appropriate tense of the verb beand the present participle of a verb.

Examples

• Present progressive – I am jogging. He is Jogging. They are jogging.

• Past progressive – I was jogging. They were jogging.

• Future progressive – I will (shall) be jogging.

• Present perfect progressive – He has been jogging. They have been jogging.

• Past perfect progressive – I had been jogging.

• Future perfect progressive – I will (shall) have been jogging.

The emphatic form of a verb is used to express emphasis.• Only the present and past tenses have the emphatic form.

• Examples:• Present emphatic

• I do believe we will be late.

• It does seem to be chilly outside.

• Past emphatic• I did send a thank-you note.

PASSIVE AND ACTIVE VOICE

• The voice of an action verb tells whether the subject of the sentence performs or receives and action.

• When the subject performs the action of the verb, the verb is usually in the active voice.• Active verbs express your ideas directly.

• When the subject receives the action of the verb, the verb is usually in the passive voice.• The passive voice is formed from a form of be, used as a helping verb, and the

past participle of the verb.

Irregular Verbs

• Verb forms change to show when an action occurs.

• The many forms of the verb are based on its three principal parts: the past, the past, and the past participle.

• For regular verbs, -d or –ed is added to form the past and the past participle

• Some regular verbs change their spelling when the –d or – ed is added.

• Example• Present marry omit

• Past married omitted

• Past participle (has, have) married (has, have) omitted

Irregular Verbs

• Verbs that do not follow the regular pattern (-d, -ed) are called irregular verbs.

• Some of the irregular verbs have the same spelling for their past and past participle forms

• Some have the same spelling in all three principal parts

• Other irregular verbs have three different forms• Examples:

• Present do set feel

• Past did set felt

• Past participle (has, have) done (has/have) set (has, have) felt

Verbals – a form of a verb that is used as a noun, adjective, or adverb.• Participles

• A participle is a verb that ends in –ing, -d, or –ed and acts as an adjective, modifying a noun or pronoun.

• A present participle describes a present condition.

• A past participle descries something that has happened.

• Gerunds• A gerund is a verb form that ends in –ing and that acts as a noun.

• They are usually accompanied by other associated words making up a gerund phrase

And the last verbal

• An infinitive consists of the base form of the verb plus the word to, as in to walk.

• Infinitives may act as adjectives, adverbs, or nouns. • A present infinitive describes a present condition.

• His goal is to win. (noun)

• He has a chance to compete (adjective)

• Kim is eager to try. (adverb)

• The perfect infinitive describes a time earlier than that of the verb• To have erred was embarrassing. (noun)

• That was the person to have asked. (adjective)

• She was pleased to have attended. (adverb)

Direct and Indirect Objects

• A direct object receives the action in the sentence.• It usually answers the question what? Or whom?

• To find the direct object, find the action verb in the sentence. Then ask what?or whom? About the verb

• Sometimes the direct object is received by someone or something. This receiver is called the indirect object.• It usually comes before the direct object and tells to whom the action is

directed, or for whom the action is performed

• Only verbs that have direct objects can have indirect objects.

Linking Verbs, Predicate Nouns, Pronouns, and Adjectives• A linking verb connects a subject with a noun, pronoun, or adjective that

describes it or identifies that subject.

• Linking verbs do not express action

• They need a noun, a pronoun, or an adjective to complete the sentence meaning

• Most linking verbs are forms of the verb to be, including am, are, is, was, and been.

• Other words that can be used as linking verbs include: appear, feel, grow, smell, taste, seem, sound, look, stay, feel, remain, and become

• Keep in mind that when to be verbs are part of action verbs, they are helpers

• A predicate noun (or predicate nominative) is a noun that completes a sentence that uses a linking verb, such as a form of the verb to be

• Similarly, a predicate pronoun is a pronoun that completes a sentence that uses a linking verb.

• In fact, the relationship between the subject and the predicate noun or pronoun is so close that the sentence usually suggests an equation. Such sentences can be changed without changing the meaning.

• Example:• Predicate noun – Duke Ellington was a great composer, bandleader, and musician.

(Duke Ellington = composer, bandleader, and musician)• Predicate pronoun – The originator of the prank was she. (originator = she)

She was the originator of the prank (she = originator).

• A predicate adjective completes a sentence by modifying, or describing, the subject of a sentence.

• To find a predicate adjective, ask the same question you would ask of a direct object.

Subject and Verb Agreement

• A singular noun describes or stands for one person, place, thing, or idea.

• A plural noun describes or stands for more than one person, place, thing, or idea.

• In a sentence, a verb must be singular if its subject is singular and plural if its subject is plural.

• In other words, a verb must agree in number with the subject.

• Usually, a verb directly follows the subject in a sentence. Sometimes, however, a prepositional phrase or clause separates the subject and verb. Even thought separated they must still agree in number.

• A contraction is a shortened form of a word, a group of words, or a numeral.

• The apostrophes in contractions shoe where letters, words, or numerals have been left out

• Contractions should agree in number with their subjects

• A linking verb agrees with its subject, but not necessarily with a predicate noun or predicate adjective that follows it

Subject-Verb agreement with Special Subjects

• Collective Nouns, such as audience, class, flock, group, family, press, and public name a group of people or things. Use a singular verb when you think of a collective group as a single unit; use a plural verb when you think of a collective noun as multiple members• Example:

• Singular - The audience roars as the singer bounds onto the stage.

• Plural – The audience leave in ones and twos when the show is cancelled.

Nouns ending in -s

• Are sometimes plural in form but singular in meaning. News, economics, measles, mumps, mathematics, and physics refer to a single thing or to a unit and therefore take a singular verb.• Notice that removing the s does not make the noun singular

• Other nouns ending in –s take a plural verb, even though they are understood to refer to one thing. These nouns include scissors, pliers, pants, trousers, slacks, eyeglasses, binoculars, clothes, thanks, and congratulations

• Some nouns ending in –s may be singular or plural, depending on their meaning in the sentence. The number of words like politics, acoustics, statistics, and headquarters, depends on their use in a sentence

• The title of an artwork (painting, literature, sculpture, or music) is always singular.

• Words expressing amount or time may be singular or plural. Use a singular verb with words and phrases that refer to singular units: fractions, measurements, amounts of money, weights, volumes, or specific intervals of time when the intervals refer to a specific unit

• Use a plural verb when the amount or the time is considered to be a number of separate units

• When you use the words the number or the variety as a subject, use a singular verb. When you use a number or a variety as a subject, use a plural verb.

Compound Subject and Verb Agreement

• A compound subject consists of two or more subjects that share the same verb.

• A compound subject must have either a singular or plural verb, depending on how the parts of the subject are connected• Use a singular verb when the compound subject is made up of singular nouns

or pronouns connected by either/or or neither/nor• Use a plural verb when the compound subject is connected by the

coordinating conjunction and; and when the compound subject is formed from plural nouns or pronouns

• When a compound subject consists of a singular subject and a plural subject connected by or or nor, use a verb that agrees in number with the subject closer to it in the sentence.

• EMC Mirrors and WIndows: Grammar & Style. St. Paul, Minn.: EMC Publishing, 2012. Print.